


When It's Right

by hopedespite



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: But i barely touch on it here, Endgame Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Kissing in the Rain, Luka Couffaine Knows, Lukanette, Rain, Slightly Aged up, but not really, its more implied than anything else, you could maybe argue that there's a little angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:41:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29049339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopedespite/pseuds/hopedespite
Summary: Marinette had been hurt before, sure, and she knew now what it felt like when being with someone was wrong. But when it feltright, on the other hand...Well, reeling beneath the stars and the rain with Luka, Marinette knew now what it meant when something was right.
Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 12
Kudos: 71
Collections: LBSCSprintFicChallenge





	When It's Right

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the LBSC Sprint Fic Challenge, where participants are allotted three 15-minute sprints with 24 hours for editing, including the ability to write new material for completion and transitions.  
> Song Prompt: [Like A Movie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0jFGlEbiEc) by Cam  
> Thank you so much @Miraculously_Furious for beta reading!

Before tonight, Marinette had never stopped to think about the way the stars looked as though they were gentle perforations of the night sky — mere pinpricks through a woven curtain of heaven. And before tonight, she certainly would never have considered just how intimate that darkened expanse could feel as she tipped her head upward and rested her chin on Luka’s shoulder.

As his motorcycle sped through the night, Marinette let her eyes go unfocused; let the stars swim overhead in a soothing blur that felt as never-ending as the road before them. Her skin tingled as she relished in the soft warmth of the boy’s worn leather jacket beneath her jaw.

She and Luka had spent the evening together, swapping stories from school and collaborating on the details of Kitty Section’s newest number before they finally noticed just how many hours had passed by. And so, now, they were trying to beat the incoming rain, hoping to speed their way back to the Dupain-Cheng Bakery before the storm claimed the sky for its own and crowded out the star’s gentle company.

“I think we’ll make it,” Luka called over one shoulder.

Marinette simply turned her head to lean the opposite cheek against his back in response, tightening her arms contentedly around his torso. She reveled in the intermingling scents of the impending rain with cologne and leather.

“I don’t care if we do or don’t,” she eventually called back, knowing her voice would reach Luka’s ears despite it mostly being stolen away by the greedy press of the wind. “I don’t want this night to end.”

Sure, she and Luka hadn’t made anything between them official — not yet, anyway — But Marinette knew where she stood and what she chose.

She knew _who_ she chose.

After all, when Luka called her name, all Marinette could see was red.

Not the bright red of Ladybug, of course — not the insistent crimson of responsibility, nor the rubescent glow of alarm or anxiety. Rather, she saw shifting shades of red that invoked warmth. That spoke of home and hearth and sunsets and all of the peace she had long-sought.

When he called her name, it was all warm colors on a paper backdrop; it was Luka alone who saw every shade she had to offer and never once made her feel as though she had to choose or compromise.

With Luka, she was simply… Marinette.

The more immediate hues of blue, black, and white pulled her back from her reverie, however, when the sky finally split open with a resounding _crack_. The woven curtain that had held the rain at bay swept back and away from Paris, releasing a heavy downpour.

Luka immediately pulled over.

“Over there!” He pointed toward a closed cafe down the road and the two hoisted themselves off his bike, running toward the nearby awning. But once they reached the shelter and caught their breath, Marinette couldn’t help but notice the way the boy’s brows had remained furrowed.

“I’m so sorry, Marinette.” Luka’s stare was fixed on the slick sheets of water that dragged themselves down and over the awning. “I thought the storm was farther out. I didn’t mean to ruin our night.”

But the girl merely smiled, brushing away her damp bangs with one hand as the remaining droplets on her face helped to cool her flaming cheeks. After all, a few extra minutes alone with the boy had been all she really wanted.

“It’s fine, Luka,” she assured him, trying unsuccessfully to catch his eye. “I’m really enjoying our night together. You have nothing to apologize for.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure! _Really,_ Luka. I promise — I’ve had so much fun with you tonight. A little rain wouldn’t ruin that.”

Marinette edged closer, her body vibrating both with nerves and the physical rumble of the passing cars on the oil-slicked streets. As she stepped in front of him, she hesitantly reached her fingers out to brush against the back of his hand.

Luka froze, his eyes widening but still fixed on some point beyond her.

“Marinette?”

He swallowed as she stepped closer still, nearly toe-to-toe with him.

“Yes?”

She slipped her fingers between his, leaning in.

Luka wet his lips nervously. “What about Adrien?”

That made her pause, and she cocked her head in careful contemplation before tightening her grip on his. Her gaze never wavered.

“I have been hurt before,” she admitted. “By Adrien. By his rejection. And I know you know that, but… don’t you see how much it meant to me to have you there while I put myself back together? To feel _safe_ with you, even with everything that’s been on my shoulders for the last two years? Haven’t you felt how this is _right_? And when it’s right…”

She sighed wistfully. Luka continued to watch the rain spill onto the pavement.

“In the end, Adrien was wrong for me, Luka. And when it’s wrong, it’s wrong.” Summoning the remainder of her courage, she raised her free hand to tilt his head downward and trail her fingertips across his jawline in invitation. “But when it’s right…”

The moment hung suspended between them, all dim lights and slow motion. Marinette held her breath, waiting to see how he’d react. All she could do was focus on the way the blue-tipped hairs hanging over Luka’s eyes were framed with beads of water.

Until finally— 

Finally, Luka slowly raised his eyes to hers. Finally, he caught the laughter, the warmth, and the permission behind her gaze. Finally, tenderly — as though giving Marinette one final moment to change her mind — he leaned in. Grazed his thumb over her cheek. Bent forward to close the gap between them.

And finally, _finally_ , they got a taste of what they had both craved for so long.

… _But when it’s right, it’s like a movie._

After a heartbeat, Marinette untangled her fingers from Luka’s, bringing them up to instead entwine them in his hair and deepen the kiss.

At that moment, the world around them faded to stillness — the streets gray with the storm and the white noise of the rain muting any other sounds or voices that might have otherwise distracted them.

To Marinette, it was blissful placidity.

To Luka, it was the long-anticipated climax of a song he’d longed to hear.

To both of them, it was nothing short of perfect.

When they eventually pulled back, the world once again returned to press in against them in the form of pattering rain on an awning. The thunder’s roll from above blended into the muted whispers now shared between the two as they rested their foreheads against one another.

Smiling, Marinette caressed the back of Luka’s neck, marveling at how the red of this moment was so light, so gentle — so _right_ — that it had slipped its way into a joyous pink hue.

She knew this was only the beginning of their story.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading! You can also find me on [Tumblr](https://writtenbyrain.tumblr.com/).


End file.
